Quiet Stories is an Auckland based video game developer, dedicated to telling interactive stories and tackling New Zealand's youth mental health problem. However there is one thing we care about more than making games, and that's playing games! Every week on this blog we share podcasts, videos and articles where we celebrate, analyse and interview other incredibly talented developers in the industry. So for an abundance of gaming content check out Quiet Stories on Twitter (OurQuietStories) or on YouTube and Facebook (Quiet Stories).

Introduction

Narrative is one of the central catalysts to creating entertaining and emotionally captivating media. Films such as inception left us reeling, with complex ideas on consciousness and the implications of tampering with an individual’s memories. While what some call, the golden age of television, has brought forth gritty drama’s that lead us to empathise with drug dealers (Breaking Bad), fear other people more than flesh eating virus’s (The Walking Dead), and question who’s death is most imminent (Game of Thrones). Both film and television have adapted and evolved the ways that they tell stories over the last 20 years. Yet there is one medium that has seen far more narrative growth than any other. Video Games.

Hey there guys. It’s time for another episode of the One Up Gaming podcast. This week I go into detail over my thoughts on Far Cry Primal and how it may or may not pave the way for several other unique titles. We also talk a fair amount about several retro consoles hitting the market, and which one is best for you.

And I have FINALLY gotten my new microphone. So let’s hope I sound a little better now!

Evolve launched in the first quarter of 2015, to so so reviews and poor player retention. Despite stunning graphics, and a unique hook the game just didn’t stick. Some blamed the complicated learning curve for new players, others the intense reliability on coordination between team mates, while many grew annoyed with the over priced DLC.

David wasn’t feeling too well this week, so I took over the role of host. David has been playing an absurd amount of games, (which he goes into great detail on). While I discuss how Just Cause 3 is starting to leave a bad taste in my mouth, and how giving Outlast a second go with some buddies and a few beers is surprisingly fun.